


koi no yokan

by tikkikwami



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast), The Adventure Zone: Amnesty (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Koi no Yokan, M/M, Trans Duck Newton, there are various other characters that make brief appearances but it's mainly indrid and duck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 12:04:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19811938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tikkikwami/pseuds/tikkikwami
Summary: “There’s a Japanese phrase that I like: koi no yokan. It doesn’t mean love at first sight. It’s closer to love at second sight. It’s the feeling when you meet someone that you’re going to fall in love with them. Maybe you don’t love them right away, but it’s inevitable that you will.”― Nicola Yoon, The Sun Is Also a Star





	koi no yokan

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everybody! It's storytime!
> 
> Note: This diverges from canon after the tree battle. Duck doesn’t lose his powers.

“There’s a Japanese phrase that I like: koi no yokan. It doesn’t mean love at first sight. It’s closer to love at second sight. It’s the feeling when you meet someone that you’re going to fall in love with them. Maybe you don’t love them right away, but it’s inevitable that you will.”

― Nicola Yoon, The Sun Is Also a Star

*

Usually, Indrid didn’t fixate on one person when looking at his visions. He looked at all the futures equally, drawing out the important ones by habit, and sometimes the unimportant ones too when there wasn’t anything important happening. But there was a man that kept popping up in his visions more and more often recently. 

There was something about the man in his visions that made Indrid want to _do something_ again, to intervene when something disastrous might happen. Soon, he learned the man’s name. Duck Newton. An odd name, perhaps somewhat charming. And his accent… Indrid found himself looking forward to seeing him in his visions. 

Feeling almost giddy, he found himself in a situation where he would need to call Duck to stop a disaster. He hadn’t intervened with his visions in a long, long time; but it was _Duck_ , and he trusted Duck to fix the situation. And he did. 

With the realization that Duck would be at his winnebago sometime in the near future, Indrid worked on removing all the drawings of visions that involved Duck and his friends from his walls. No need to seem like a creeper. 

*

Indrid found himself holding his breath the next day as Duck and his friends approached his camper. Should he open the door and say hello? Should he wait until they knocked? Goodness, should he have worn something nicer than his regular lounge clothes? 

With a deep breath, Indrid calmed himself. It was unlikely these people would actually be important to him in the long run, right? That’s how it always went. When he rarely bothered to help intervene with potential futures, he didn’t stick around for long, for fear of others discovering his abilities. 

But these three were special. They were part of the Pine Guard, and he didn’t have to hide his abilities from them. 

When he opened the door, he was blown away by the sudden and intense _feeling_ that swept through him when he met Duck’s eyes. It was as if he was waiting for him to return home, and he was finally there; it was like he’d been waiting for him his whole life. And judging by Duck’s wide eyes, he felt the same. “Oh, hello,” he breathed. 

“Yeah, I’m here too,” Aubrey said impatiently. “Where are your wings?” 

Indrid was able to pull himself together enough to talk normally - as normally as he knew how - for the rest of the conversation, and to send the trio off to go fix yet another disaster. 

But what was that feeling? When he met eyes with Duck and suddenly felt like he was at home and in the sunlight and floating all at once?

He’d heard it described many times before, but only in folk tales. With a dry chuckle, he rubbed his face with his hand. Soulmates. What a concept. 

*

That afternoon when he called Duck to ask him to bring Billy on over, he felt a little zing of excitement just hearing the ranger’s voice. And he watched with admiration as he dealt with Thacker so easily. 

When the Pine Guard trio stopped by the campground again sometime soon after, he was waiting somewhat eagerly to see Duck again. He wasn’t sure if ‘soulmates’ would be the word he’d use to describe his connection with Duck - he barely knew him, after all - but it was definitely something. Something strange and wonderful, and he wanted to spend time with Duck to figure it out. 

Yes, he was able to talk to them a bit more normally than last time, with less echoing and more listening. But he wasn’t completely focused on the conversation. His eyes kept flicking over to Duck, and he noticed the man looking back at him just as curiously.

But there were more important things at hand. 

*

Indrid would have left after Keith saw him. He planned to leave. But the hesitation he felt at seeing Duck’s disappointment was too much, and besides, his visions didn’t show much mayhem involving himself. 

So he decided to stay. And babysit this other goat man, regardless of how good of an idea it was. 

It was a bad idea, he decided the next morning - as he was being dragged through the snow. 

*

The next thing Indrid knew, he was waking up in his winnebago sans glasses with an atrocious headache. He blinked in the darkness, sitting up painfully and holding himself up against the wall with his large wings. Oh, yes. He’d been attacked by a goat man, and… the rest was fuzzy. 

But he was home and not dead yet. With a tired groan, he stood up and got himself some water. His first order of business would be to make himself a new disguise. He rummaged through his box of items and found a simple leather cord bracelet. With a shrug, he set to working on the disguise. 

It took him much, much longer than it did to make Billy’s disguise the day before. Firstly, he was most likely concussed and his head hurt like a motherfucker, so the flashes of light his magic produced were not a welcome intrusion in the darkness. He was also exhausted, and it took almost more energy than he had to make the disguise. 

He also wanted it to look the same as his last disguise, and that’s a lot of details to remember. But he could always tweak it later if he needed to. With a tired sigh, he put on the completed disguise and sighed with relief that nobody would accidentally see him as a moth person again. 

*

After a few hours of nursing his headache, Indrid heard a knock on the door. He opened it just a crack at first, trying to acclimate to the sunlight, before he heard Duck’s voice. “Indrid? Hey, I was wonderin’ if y’were alright. I brought ya your glasses.” 

Indrid opened the door the rest of the way, squinting. “Come in. Sorry, I’ve got a bit of a… headache.” To put it lightly. 

Duck entered and mercifully shut the door. He turned on his dimmest lamp just so Duck could have some light to see by. “I’ve already made a new disguise, as you can see. You can give Heathcliff the glasses.”

Duck shrugged, setting them on Indrid’s table before sitting down on his couch. “Y’could always use a backup enchantment. ‘Sides, like you said, they’re stylish.” His smile eased some of Indrid’s tension. “Are you doin’ alright?” 

Indrid sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Kind of. I’ve had a migraine since, well, since I woke up here. I don’t even know how I got home.” 

Duck looked at him and talked more quietly than before, careful not to make the headache worse. “I brought you here. You passed out after flying a short distance.” 

The seer just blinked at him. “ _How_?” 

“I’ve got magic powers?” Duck grimaced. “That sounds fuckin’ wild. But basically, I’m strong and-”

“I carried you,” Indrid said at the same time. “Oh.” He looked down at his hands. With the new disguise, the lines on them weren’t quite in the right places. He picked up the glasses and put them back on, taking off the bracelet. He gave a relieved sigh at being back in his regular body. “Thank you for bringing me my glasses. I appreciate that.” 

“‘S the least I could do,” Duck said with a sheepish look. “I convinced ya to take care of a fuckin’ crazy goatman that attacked you.” 

Indrid chuckled quietly. “Yes, well, I’m the one with foresight. I just didn’t see it because I was… distracted.” 

Duck gave him a long look. “I’ve been a li’l distracted, too, thinkin’ about what happened when we first met. What was that?” 

Indrid shook his head, then winced at the sudden pain. “I don’t know. Or, rather, I have a suspicion, but I’d rather wait and see.” 

“A suspicion?” Duck asked curiously. “What is it?” 

Indrid was silent for a moment. “Why don’t you describe what happened to a couple of other sylphs and ask their opinions on what it might be?” he said. He didn’t want to just tell Duck they might be _soulmates_. That might be coming on a little strong. 

Duck rolled his eyes. “I thought we were done with the mystery bullshit,” he complained. 

Indrid giggled. “Okay, but I’d rather you hear it from someone other than me. Besides, a second opinion would be appreciated, too.” 

“D’you wanna come with?” Duck asked, then paused. “Actually, y’should stay here. Do you have any migraine medications or anythin’?” 

“Uh, no,” Indrid said, taking a sip of water. “I’ve just been sitting in the dark and hoping the pain goes away.” 

“I’m gonna get you some fuckin’ excedrin, christ,” Duck said, standing up. “Gettin’ battered and shit without any medicine sucks. I’ll be back in a li’l bit, okay?” 

“Okay,” Indrid responded, giving Duck a hesitant smile. “I’ll just be here, I suppose.” 

*

Duck returned only a short amount of time later. Indrid opened the door for him before he knocked and gratefully took the grocery bag from him. “Oh, wow,” he said, looking inside. “I appreciate the concern, but… this is a lot, don’t you think?” 

He didn’t miss the slight blush that rose to Duck’s cheeks. “You’re hurt,” he mumbled. “Excuse me for bein’ fucking concerned.” 

Indrid laughed quietly before opening a tylenol package. “Thank you, Duck.” 

“No problem,” he said. “‘M just gonna go ask the other sylphs ‘bout… whatever the fuck that was yesterday, I guess. You get some sleep.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Indrid agreed, giving him a little wave as he left.

*

“Oh, you’re soulmates,” Dani said confidently. Squinting at her, Duck just waited for an explanation. “I mean, the way you feel when you’re around him… you already know, don’t you?” 

“I figured it was a crush or somethin’,” Duck said, his cheeks darkening with a blush. 

“On a cosmic level,” Barclay interjected. “You should go talk to him.” 

“Fine,” Duck groaned. “If this is a prank, y’all’re gonna fuckin’ get it.” 

“I’m sure we will,” Dani laughed. 

*

“So apparently we’re, uh, soulmates,” Duck said, taking a sip of his eggnog. 

Indrid hummed. “That’s what I figured, yeah, but I didn’t want to seem fucking insane.” 

Duck chuckled. “Yeah, I might’ve been a little weirded out by a near-stranger tellin’ me we’re soulmates, ‘specially since I didn’t know that was, like, a thing.” 

“But it is,” Indrid said, voice serious. “What do you want to do about it?” 

“Well, first you’re gonna rest ‘til you get better,” Duck said firmly. “An’ you’re gonna let me know if you need anything, alright?” 

“Okay,” Indrid agreed, a slight blush rising to his cheeks. Duck’s concern for him made his heart beat a little faster. 

Duck grabbed a scrap of paper from the floor and a pen from his shirt pocket, and he scribbled something on it. “This is my home phone number. ‘M gonna tack it up next to your phone.” He used a spare thumbtack from the corkboard that was seemingly on every wall to pin it by the phone.

“Thank you,” Indrid said quietly. “I don’t have the energy to search for it with my visions.” 

“Isn’t that a fuckin’ paradox?” 

“Using my visions of myself dialing the number to find the number to dial? Yes, I suppose it is.” 

Duck shook his head. “Anyways. You’re gonna get better, then I’m gonna take you on a date. Or we’re gonna watch movies together or somethin’. I wanna get to know you.” 

Indrid smiled at him. “I’d like that.” He rubbed his head near where it was injured and winced. “Ah, I don’t want to kick you out, but at the same time… I do need to rest.” 

“Sure,” Duck agreed, turning toward the door. “Take your time feelin’ better, okay?” 

“Okay,” Indrid said, giving a small wave as Duck left. 

He found himself smiling. He had a soulmate. A _soulmate_. And he couldn’t wait to get to know him better.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments make my day!


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